Rangers, Penguins recovering for Game 2 after 3OT thriller

GREENBURGH, N.Y. --The New York Rangers stayed off the ice Wednesday, recovering after losing the longest game ever played at the current Madison Square Garden, 4-3 in triple overtime to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round on Tuesday.

Their page was turned.
"Move on, get ready for the next one," coach Gerard Gallant said. "It was a battle last night. We got the short end of the stick, but it's one game so you've got to move on. No big deal. We would have loved to have won it, but we've got to battle back and win the next one."
The Penguins took the opposite approach by holding a well-attended optional practice at Madison Square Garden that included defenseman Kris Letang, who played a game-high 46:41, and goalie Louis Domingue, who could be the starter in Game 2 on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; TNT, CBC, SN, TVAS, MSG, ATTSN-PT).
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Domingue made 17 saves after relieving injured starter Casey DeSmith with 10:42 remaining in the second overtime.
DeSmith is day to day with a lower-body injury and did not skate Wednesday.
Tristan Jarry, the Penguins' No. 1 goalie, remains out with a lower-body injury and is not skating.
"That's the importance of that No. 3 goalie in the event you have to go to them," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "If you can fill that position with a real capable guy that has NHL experience, I think that's a huge bonus. And I think Louis checks all those boxes."
The Rangers focus in the aftermath of the 4-hour, 38-minute marathon Game 1 was not on the outcome, a result of Evgeni Malkin scoring 5:58 into the third overtime. Instead, the Rangers narrowed in on why they couldn't hold leads of 2-0 and 3-2 in the second period.
Had they been able to, the game likely wouldn't have gone 105:58, the fifth longest game in Penguins history and the seventh longest in Rangers history.
"We did a lot of things right in the first 25 [minutes] and after that, they took over a little bit," Gallant said. "In the second period, they got a lot of chances against us and for whatever reason we got away from doing the good things we've done. It happens, but it shouldn't be that much of a difference, being excellent for 25 minutes to then not too good."
The Penguins outshot the Rangers 25-8 in the second period.
They had a quick answer each time New York scored, with Jake Guentzel scoring 84 seconds after Andrew Copp made it 2-0 at 3:08 of the period and Bryan Rust getting a 5-on-3 power-play goal 83 seconds after Chris Kreider's shorthanded goal made it 3-2 at 17:07.
The game was relatively even from the third period on, with Pittsburgh holding a 48-45 advantage in shots on goal. But it was in the second period that the Rangers said they feel they lost their way, despite scoring two goals.
"We've talked about it, that first period we were real good and even at the start of the second and the tide kind of turned there," defenseman Adam Fox said. "I think we let the game get away from us there. It's definitely a lesson to be learned. They had 25 shots in the second period and it's tough to hold a lead when you're giving up that many shots, that many chances."
To avoid it happening again, Fox said the Rangers have to stick with the same approach they had in the first period, when their speed, physicality and puck management had the Penguins chasing the game.
"Once we started letting them go 'D'-to-'D' across the ice, then the game opened up and that's not where we want to play," Gallant said. "We have to be quicker on the forecheck. Puck management hurt us probably halfway through the second. Instead of driving the net and getting pucks behind their defensemen, we started making plays in the high slot and they were broken up and then they started going the other way."
The Penguins focus, outside of recovering physically and mentally, was on ways to combat what they believe will be another fast and physical start by the Rangers in Game 2.
"I still think we've got another level to our game," Sullivan said.
He said he felt the Penguins weren't fully prepared for the Rangers aggressive opening to the game, which is a point of emphasis.
"I thought our readiness there could have been a little better," Sullivan said.
That it wasn't didn't matter in the end, but the end was also not the focus of either team Wednesday.
"Last night it was tough, no doubt," Gallant said. "The game is over and you lose in six periods and you lose your home ice a little bit. But we still believe we're a real good team. We still believe we're going to win this series. Tomorrow night is a big game for us now."